Study: One in four California teens identify as gender-nonconforming

An untitled photograph from Lindsay Morris' "You are You" series is among works on view in "I am a Camera" at FotoFest July 9-Aug. 29. (2007-2012, Courtesy of the artist)
The children pictured are participating in a weekend summer camp created by parents in support and celebration of their gender-nonconformity.

An untitled photograph from Lindsay Morris' "You are You" series is...

More than one in four California teenagers identify as gender-nonconforming, people who don't follow societal stereotypes about how they should look or act based on the sex assigned at birth, a new study found.

According to the study by The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 27 percent, or 796,00, of California youth between 12 and 17 years old report being gender-nonconforming.

While gender-nonconforming teens were twice as likely to experience psychological distress, the study found no significant difference in suicidal thoughts between those teens and their gender-conforming peers.

Lead author Bianca D.M. Wilson, the Rabbi Barbara Zacky Senior Scholar of Public Policy at The Williams Institute, cautioned that efforts must still be made "to educate parents, schools and communities on the mental health needs of these young people and reduce known risk factors, such as bullying and bias."

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The level of suicidal thoughts found in this survey is lower than other studies have found, which may be due to the small sample size of 1,600 families or to California's policies prohibiting bullying and discrimination against gender-nonconforming people in schools and public facilities.

"It's possible California's policy environment has made it safer for adolescents to be gender-nonconforming," said co-author Tara Becker. "But given events at the national level, we should by no means relax our stance. California can and should strive to be an ongoing model of acceptance and inclusion."